YWCA of Palestine Newsletter Vol.

3, May 15, 2015

Between the Hammer of Occupation/Colonialism and the Anvil of Patriarchy
Ongoing Nakba and The Right of Return

There is no such thing as the voiceless.

There are only the deliberately silenced
or the preferably unheard.
Arundahti Roy

May 15 marks the day Palestinians remember as Al Nakba, The Catastrophe. It will be 67 years
since the Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes and lands in 1948. Ilan Pappe
says though indeed this was a catastrophe for the Palestinian people it was also a planned
ethnic cleansing and thus a war crime with people who need to be charged as war criminals.
This Zionist colonization and ethnic cleansing process is still going on which is why many say the
Nakba has never ended or is ongoing which means in addition to the six million refugees known
by UNWRA there are thousands of newly displaced refugees (IDPs) within Palestine and now
Israel as each day homes are demolished and lands confiscated.
The Right of Return, guaranteed under UN Resolution 194, has dropped out of political sight but
it lives as a sacred and indestructible core of the Palestinian psyche says Abu-Sitta and any
Palestinian you sit and drink tea with. We at the YWCA of Palestine believe that remembering,
tending, nurturing this sacred bond between people and land is critical for peacemaking. We
also believe that all people have the right to dream of a future.
The late Eduardo Galleano said The right to dream does not figure in the 30 human rights
which the United Nations proclaimed at the end of 1948. But if it were not for this, or for the
waters it gives us to drink, the other rights would die of thirst.
As you read these articles or watch these videos, we invite you to reflect on the relationship
between the Right of Return and the Right to Dream. How are they related? What are the
waters that the right to dream provide? How can they quench our thirst for justice or support
our advocacy?
We invite you to listen to the stories of people whose voices have been silenced, whose villages
were covered up by green parks or forests. We invite you to reflect on how a support for the
Right of Return might demand that the Palestinian Authority intervene in the Yarmouk refugee
camp or provide citizenship for all refugees worldwide. We invite you to imagine a just solution,
a just peace.
We ask you to support Palestines accession to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to stop
Israels ongoing illegal settlement colonization process, and to charge them for war crimes for
their indiscriminate killing of civilians during Operation Protective Edge, and inhumane
treatment of political prisoners.
We ask that you support the Palestinian civil societys call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions
(BDS) as an appropriate nonviolent tool of creative resistance until the occupation ends,
Palestinians within Israel have equal rights, and Refugees return or receive reparations.
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Shaken by War on Gaza, Palestinian in Israel gather for March of Return

Yesterday, an estimated 5,000 Palestinian citizens of
Israel and Jerusalemites participated in the March of
Return in an open field overlooking the Sea of Galilee
and above a valley where ruins of the village of Hadatha
are scattered. Organized annually by the Association for
the Defense of the Rights of the Displaced People, the
March of Return commemorates the ethnic cleansing of
Palestine by pre-state Zionist forces in 1947-1948
what is known as the Nakba.
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/04/shaken-palestiniansreturn#sthash.eFb943vQ.dpuf
Our life is hope amidst despair Violette Khoury, Nazareth
In 1959, Violette Khoury began her undergraduate
degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Israel was
only 11 years old and there were about 60 Palestinian
studentsnewly minted citizens of the State of Israel
attending the school, all of whom needed military
permits to enroll and stay on campus. During that first
year of study, Violette says she remembers a professor of
botany sitting down with the Palestinian students, saying
that there is no issue with Israelis and Palestinians
because there are no Palestinians and the new
generation will forget there ever was a land called Palestine.
https://mccpalestine.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/our-life-is-hope-amidst-despair-violettekhoury-nazareth/
Historical whitewash: Great Britain must be held accountable for its role in the Nakba
Israel/Palestine by Nu'man Abd al-Wahid on May 15, 2014
Nothing more exemplifies the historical whitewash
of British rule in Palestine between 1917 and 1948
than the response (or lack of) to David
Camerons speech in the Israeli Kneeset in March
2014. Therein he briefly propounded the much
overlooked fact that Britain was the main western
supporter of the Zionist colonial experiment in
Palestine from the very beginning.
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/05/historicalwhitewash-accountable
On Israels little-known concentration and labor camps in 1948-1955

Much of the grim and murky circumstances

of the Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestinians
in the late 1940s have gradually been
exposed over time. One aspect rarely
researched or deeply discussed is the
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internment of thousands of Palestinian civilians within at least 22 Zionist-run concentration and

labor camps that existed from 1948 to 1955. Now more is known about the contours of this
historical crime, due to the comprehensive research by renowned Palestinian historian Salman
Abu Sitta and founding member of the Palestinian resource center BADIL Terry Rempel.
https://alethonews.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/on-israels-little-known-concentration-andlabor-camps-in-1948-1955/
Pre-1948 Palestine brought to life in Nabil Ananis paintings

Submitted by Sarah Irving

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/sarah-irving/pre1948-palestine-brought-life-nabil-ananis-paintings

Mass Palestinian grave found in Tel Aviv

The remains of dozens of Palestinians killed by Israelis in
fighting during the war of 1948 which led to the
creation of the state of Israel have been found in a mass
grave in Tel Aviv's Jaffa district. An official at the
Muslim cemetery there told AFP news agency that the
grisly find occurred on Wednesday when ground
subsided as workers carried out renovations, revealing
six chambers full of skeletons.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/06/20136104317486359.html
Yarmuk Refugee Camp and the Syrian Uprising: A View from Within
Nidal Bitari http://www.palestine-studies.org/jps/fulltext/162936
Commemorating the Nakba at a Grim Time By Samah Jabar
Sixty-seven years after the massive expulsion of
Palestinians from their homes and lands, the
scene in Palestine is grimmer than ever. We
observe for example that following almost a
year of meetings, the US-backed talks between
the Palestinian Authority and Israel fell apart
last April. What followed that summer was an
escalation of violence and a destructive war on
Gaza.
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/commemo
rating-the-nakba-at-a-grim-time/
Israel Must Open Its Doors to Palestinian Refugees Trapped by Syria's War by Rula Jebreal

Last week, Israel announced with massive fanfare

that it was dispatching a rescue crew to Nepal to
assist with earthquake relief efforts. Israeli media
touted the news that the Israeli military had
deployed some 250 medical personnel, one of the
largest teams sent by any country, rescuing as
many as 2,000 of their own citizens and setting up
a field hospital to treat locals. But foreign media
reports soon began questioning the fact that the
Israeli personnel had immediately begun
organizing an airlift of surrogate babies birthed for Israeli couples, their non-Jewish local
mothers left behind. The episode raised serious questions about the priorities guiding the relief
effort, undermining its value as a potential public relations strategy.
http://m.thenation.com/article/206689-israel-must-open-its-doors-palestinian-refugeestrapped-syrias-war
Israel Imposes Curriculum Changes, Including Jewish Holocaust while Ignoring Nakba
The Israeli Education Ministry decided on Monday to include the Jewish Holocaust in the
curriculum for Palestinians in 1948 areas and to force students to study it on a large scale. The
Ministry on the other hand refused to include the Nakba Day in the curriculum.
http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/palestine/israel-imposes-curriculum-changes-includingjewish-holocaust-while-ignoring-nakba-1.1491185#.VS1qQeNrlcg.facebook
The Nakba Continues: Israeli Veterans, Palestinian Survivors Testify at First 1948 Truth
Commission By Jonathan Cook
The first-ever truth commission in Israel
featured confessions from veteran Israeli fighters
of the 1948 war, admitting that they had
perpetrated war crimes as hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians were expelled from their homes.
The commission, held in December 2014, is the
culmination of more than a decade of antagonistic
confrontations between a small group of activists
called Zochrot, the Hebrew word for
Remembering, and the Israeli authorities, as well
as much of the Jewish public. http://www.wrmea.org/2015-march-april/the-nakba-continuesisraeli-veterans-palestinian-survivors-testify-at-first-1948-truth-commission.html
BADIL and Zochrot Speaking Tour: Centering the Nakba and the right of return
Addressing head-on the Nakba and the Palestinian right of return are integral to achieving
justice for the Palestinian people. Although the Nakba has been well-documented by
Palestinian and other sources, in the US as well as the American Jewish community, the story of
the Nakba and the dispossession of the Palestinian people from their homes are often
disregarded or trivialized. http://mondoweiss.net/2015/03/zochrot-speaking-centerin/

Reports/Books
A Bold Proposal: Palestine Should Give Its Refugees Citizenship by Fateh Azzam
Palestine should confer citizenship on its stateless refugees and enter into bilateral agreements
with other states to improve their situation as citizens wherever they reside. This proposal
has pitfalls but it may be a powerful way to create facts on the road to freedom and rights.

Read full report here. http://al-shabaka.org/briefs/refugees-citizenship/?utm_source=AlShabaka+announcements&utm_campaign=4019a97291Policy_Brief_Announcement+7_19_2011_PA&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a9ca5175dc4019a97291-413385833

Bringing Back the Palestinian Refugee Question International Crisis Group, October 2014
The Palestinian refugee question, like the refugees themselves, has been politically
marginalized and demoted on the diplomatic agenda. Yet, whenever the diplomatic
process comes out of its current hiatus, the Palestinian leadership will be able to
negotiate and sell a deal only if it wins the support or at least acquiescence of refugees
because if it does not, it will not bring along the rest of the Palestinian population.
Refugees currently feel alienated from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which they
regard with suspicion; doubt the intentions of Palestinian negotiators, whom they do
not believe represent their interests; and, as one of the more impoverished Palestinian
groups, resent the class structure that the PA and its economic policies have produced.
As a result of their isolation, refugees in the West Bank and Gaza are making demands
for services and representation that are reinforcing emerging divisions
within Palestinian society and politics.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/Israel%
20Palestine/156-bringing-back-the-palestinian-refugee-question.pdf
BADIL's new release: Displacement of Palestinians as a War Crime
This report, presented in-person to the Commission of Inquiry
in January 2015, draws attention to the widespread, mass
forced displacement of Palestinians by Israel, and the crime of
forcible transfer. This devastating crime is inextricably linked
to a multitude of fundamental human rights. Yet, despite its
status as one of the most heinous acts within a situation of
international armed conflict, it is a crime which, in the case of
Israel and Palestine, has received scant attention from the
international community.
http://www.badil.org/en/badil-news/1454-story-3

The Nakba - In The Words of Palestinians

http://www.palestine-studies.org/node/189729

Multi-Media Resources
Nakba infographics (1.45 minutes)
Published on Apr 9, 2015

An infographics video displaying the events of Nakba in the year 1948 in accurate
numbers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSotAYujSz8
Al-Nakba Video series from Al Jazerra
Published on May 8, 2013 The Nakba did not begin in 1948. Its origins lie over two centuries
ago. So begins this four-part series on the Nakba, meaning the catastrophe, about the history of
the Palestinian exodus that led to the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948 and the establishment of the
state of Israel. This sweeping history starts back in 1799 with Napoleons attempted advance
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into Palestine to check British expansion and his appeal to the Jews of the world to reclaim their
land in league with France. The narrative moves through the 19th century and into the 20th
century with the British Mandate in Palestine and comes right up to date in the 21st century and
the ongoing nakba on the ground. Arab, Israeli and Western intellectuals, historians and eyewitnesses provide the central narrative which is accompanied by archive material and
documents, many only recently released for the first time.
Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7FML0wzJ6A#t=33
Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2D5Fsd9lg
Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SKECszemmA
Episode 4 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SKECszemmA
The History of the Middle East Conflict in 11 Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZY8m0cm1oY#t=117
#JustSolution
Sixty-five years ago, UNRWA began providing relief to 700,000 newly-displaced Palestine
refugees. Created as a temporary agency until a just and durable solution was achieved, the
UNRWA mandate was set to expire in one year.
Sixty-five years later, over 5 million Palestine refugees are still denied their rights. The continued
existence of UNRWA is no source of pride; rather, the absence of a just solution for Palestine
refugees is a source of international shame.
With this digital mosaic, UNRWA shares the voices of Palestine refugees calling for a just
solution. Listen to their testimonies. http://www.unrwa.org/just-solution
UNWRA Audiovisual Archive for Palestine Refugees
On this website, the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency (UNWRA) unveils the first images of
its newly digitized archive. Over half a million
images and hours of film will follow, covering all
http://archive.unrwa.org/

Return is Resistance: Palestinian Right of Return (Videos from speaking tour)

Palestinians have the right to return to the lands and homes deprived of in the 1948 expulsion-Nakba. This right is not a gift from any organization; it is inalienable recognition in International
Law. But with US backing the Zionist Government of Israel land confiscation and bulldozing of
homes continues, restricting care of the lands by checkpoints and the illegal WALL that
separates their lands and freedom of movement. This disregard for indigenous peoples was
unopposed in the New World but is not acceptable to most nations of the world. It does not
make friends --just the opposite.
With Loomis Deek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciEArY0hPoo
With Amin Hussain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq42w3NVSNc
Nakba of Palestine: speech by Ilan Pappe at Al-Awda Conference in 2008
28 minute video exploring three main issues: what was the Zionist ideology of 1948; what was
the international communitys response; and what was the Palestinian leaderships response.
Pappe insists that the term Al Nakba is incorrect because it is passive and connotes a disaster
that happened rather than a planned systematic uprooting and expelling of a whole population.
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He contends that in order to move forward today we must understand who are the criminals so
that we can hold them accountable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUDh-jTa3Go
The Zionist colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine (4.19 minutes)
A short historical overview by Al Jazeera English with voice over by Doctor Jazz
https://www.facebook.com/docjazz/videos/10152860294780535/
Israel/Palestine The Village Under the Forest (documentary video 54 minutes; Oct. 2013)
What happened in 48? Its the question
that haunts the Israel /Palestine dynamic
and defines much of the conflict. This
documentary strips back the layers of
myths, from denial to stories of mass
genocide, telling the real story through the
hidden remains of the destroyed village of
Lubya. Lying under a purposefully cultivated
forest plantation, it holds many of the
answers not only to the countrys past, but also its future.
http://www.journeyman.tv/65707/documentaries/the-village-under-the-forest-hd.html
Nakba Poem by Remi Kanazi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlhCDRvr5_w
So Wait, the Nakba is
Published on Apr 22, 2015 by Decolonizer
What do Israelis really know about the Nakba? What do they think about the right of return of
the Palestinian refugees? De-Colonizer went out to meet and ask them...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gHfpEDc-xI/
Music video:
Music video by Doc Jazz, for the song 'Right of Return', released on December 17th, 2011. This
song is a musical response to the words of Ben Gurion who spoke in 1948 about the expulsion
of over 800,000 Palestinians from their homeland:"The old will die, and the young will forget".
This song shows the world that the young have not forgotten, and will not forget. They have
kept their Palestinian identity alive, and their determination to never abandon their inalienable
Right of Return.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXn63xGf6R4

Websites:
www.badil.org
www.al-awada
www.ongoingnakba.org
www.Nakba
www.Zochrot
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